Bekkersdal Police embarked on a demonstrative march to take a stand against women and child abuse to coincide with the official launch of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign on Wednesday, 25 November.

Sergeant Linkie Lefakane, the Bekkersdal Police spokesperson, said this was a mass effort to create awareness about the scourge of violence that women and children face.

Lefakane said demonstrators who were part of the campaign walked to the Bekkersdal Taxi Rank and Bekkersdal Hostel, where they handed out leaflets condemning any form of abuse and femicide.

The aim of this demonstration was nothing more than taking a stand together against abuse suffered by women and children, which is a serious challenge. Very often, women and vulnerable children are at the receiving end of domestic violence,” Lefakane said.

She said hopefully the demonstration will help bring down the number of cases.

“We’d also like to encourage victims always to report any incident. We as women are saying let’s support each other because quite often, you get victims coming to open cases only to withdrawn them shortly afterwards,” Lefakane said.

She went on to discourage those who do so, saying once someone is abused it is very likely that the perpetrator will continue the behaviour. This might end with a loss of life – be it the victim or the perpetrator.

“We are saying to women, unite and gain strength, and make sure that you educate your children about these social ills. Speak up about it and report it,” Lefakane said.

She added that domestic violence cases are more prevalent in informal settlements where poverty and abuse of alcohol and substances are rife.

We hope that we will have fewer victims and fewer incidents, because we are making all efforts to warn and educate the public,” Lefakane said.